Log
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Jun 22Kite Fishing in the Rain
The morning started off clear with a 9 or 10 knot breeze, but of course that didn't last long. We braced ourselves for a day of kite fishing in the rain. After spending a few minutes searching, we found the pods of pilchards 1/2 mile east of bug and filled the well in short order. We headed south and put the kites up on an edge in 150'. The light winds only allowed us to fish 4 baits. At about this time the first clouds came through and storms began to form offshore. After a half hour we had to pull the kites because of the rain. We moved offshore a ways and cut the engines in 375 to begin a beam-to drift in the flat ocean. We had just set the bow flat and deep rod (among the 6 other baits in the cockpit) when the deep rod went off. A few minutes of fighting had an angry bonita boatside. Feder reset and redeployed the deep rod, which went off minutes after with another angry ...
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Jun 21Offshore Miami Fishing Charters
We left the dock at about 730 ready for anything. This time of year serves as a transitional period for fisherman. Fish have thinned out on the edge, and winds are typically lighter than winter, so kite fishing isn't so easy. At the same time though, pelagics are few and far between offshore so trolling usually turns up an equal amount of action. After filling the wells with bait we decided we had enough wind to pop the kites up. We settled in an area just south of fowey, popped six kite baits up, a deep rod, and a flat line and began the waiting game. Action was slow to say the least. The radio was dead, and those that ventured offshore found nothing so they returned to the edge to soak kite baits as well. At about 1130, something smoked the right short and took off on a blistering run on the blue side of a deep rip (220'). The angler had just gotten comfortable when whatever it was bit through ...
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Jun 18Miami Sailfishing Charters
Kite fishing is the name of the game on every one of our Miami sailfishing charters. By using kites, we are able to suspend 3 baits from one kite line, keeping frisky live baits struggling on the surface. 2 kites, 6 baits, and blue offshore waters make for serious sailfishing conditions, especially when you add wind and North current to the equation. Clear skies and an 18 knot ENE wind made it seem like midwinter in South Florida, not mid June. The weather was perfect for popping the kites up, so after spending some time loading the wells (pilchards were thick 1/4mile off bug) we headed out. Dirty water and sargasso were everywhere out front so we headed south. We finally found a rip in 190 with cleaner water a few miles south of fowey and popped the kites up. We had a cutoff right off the bat, then a pair of small dolphin came through. One munched the right mid and stole the bait then came to the right short where he found the ...
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Jun 8Light Tackle Kingfish in Miami
Live Baiting for South Florida Kingfish A few inconveninces in the morning had us out a bit later than expected. But things took a turn for the better when we got our share of bait, and headed for the edge. In the Spring you can have your shots at landing light tackle Kingfish in Miami during a full day offshore trip. Kingfish are most at home in the middle of the water column. When the weather roughens up they are usually eager to eat kite baits and flatlines, but more often than not a well presented mid-depth bait will get bit 9 times out of ten. In spring, 40-50lbers are not uncommon, and today we even boated one without wire leader. Dead Drifting for Kingfish We cut the engines in 140 and began our dead drift with 6 kite lines and 5 flat baits with a jig working everywhere in between. Only minutes into the drift did the kings crash the party. First bait out was a gog on the cabo, which got ...
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Jun 4Key Biscayne Snook Fishing
The group decided to hit a special spot in Biscayne Bay for a night of Key Biscayne snook fishing. Supposedly during the outgoing tide last night the bite really picked up. The plan was to capitalize on what would hopefully be a stronger tide promoting more feeding activity. The last couple trips were very successful and hopefully this one would be more than what we anticipated. We loaded up with bait (super secret spiny fish) and headed to our spot. The bite was hot... with fish popping periodically and fast bites. The first fish was in the mid 20 inches and was released quickly. After pulling the hook on another, we landed a 35'' fish. After this guy we caught another snook in the mid 20'' range. After that we caught another cookie cutter fish around 33''. We kept at it with our drifts and lost a few more mystery fish that couldn't be stopped by locked down drags. We eventually caught another snook around the same size which was just ...
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Jun 2Dolphin Fishing at Night in Miami
Full Day Miami Fishing Charter With a group of bachelors and a full crew the Blue Yonder headed offshore to find some fish. We had an entire afternoon and night planned out for the lucky group that booked our full day trip, and it entailed a lot of different techniques. We stopped at bug and tried to get some last lively baits for the kite (we had a full livewell of chummers but they werent looking so hot). We headed offshore at about 630 with a couple dozen more livies and popped the kites up in 180 to begin the waiting game. Kite fishing with Live Bait About a half hour into our drift a big bonehead slammed a deep jig, succesfully wiping the skunk off the boat. Flyers started showering off our left kite soon afterwards with football blackfins in hot pursuit. Our long got slammed and after a short fight a nice little blackfin made his way to our cooler. The guys were excited about the action and when we ...
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Jun 1Early Morning Blackfin Tuna Fishing off Miami
After preparing swordfish rigs for multiple hours the night before, captain and mate decided to sneak offshore and checkout the early morning blackfin tuna fishing. Bait was thick off the mark near bug at sunrise, so we spent some time loading up the wells with fresh liveys. An hour of throwing the nets and sabikiing had both wells thoroughly blacked out and fish boiling next to the boat. Figuring they were big jack crevalle, we pitched baits into the fray. Oddly enough though they were very large bonita. We hooked up to two and released them quickly so we could get to the edge. The weather was not in our favor for flying the kites, as heavy showers and light variable winds came through the area. The fish didn't notice the weather though and after setting only four flat rods and a deep rod in 120, the first flat went off. A short fight later had a keeper cero mackerel in the box. After the plague of remoras we'd ...
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May 30Afternoon Sailfish Charter in Miami
We left the dock at 2:30 for today's afternoon sailfish charter in Miami. We pulled about 3 dozen baits from the cage. After getting out a ways we realized the breeze had picked up from the morning providing perfect conditions to fly the kites. After stocking up on another few dozen Pilchards off bug, we headed south of Fowey to set the lines. After getting the first baits out, we knew the afternoon wasn't going to be easy. Remoras harassed any and every bait that hit the water, ranging from kite baits to flats and deep baits. One by one we pulled the sticky suckers over the side, having to reset kites numerous times over the first hour and a half. A few cutoffs on the flatlines had us rerig a few spinners with wire (we left fluoro rigs out for the ever present tuna), but again, the remoras beat out the kingfish to the baits. With the stiff breeze and dead calm ocean we decided to cut the engines ...
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May 25Catching Cobia in Miami
Today we left at 7 and headed to bug. Pilchards were thick off the mark and we bumped around until we caught enough for the morning. Only took about 15 minutes. Water on the edge was nasty out to 400 or so. Green water and no current... The rain and tropical storm winds from the day before had things pretty stirred up out there, but the foggy green water was clear enough to spot cobia as they cruised along the edge. They look almost like sharks as they slowly swim looking for an easy meal. Catching cobia in Miami today was very sight oriented, where the captain intercepted the free swimming fish with the boat. This allows the baits to intercept the crusing fish. Bump trolling livies didn't produce a hit between 60' and 200'. It seemed pretty dead until Girard spotted a decent cobia cruising south in about 90'. We dragged the baits in front of him and put the reel in free spool after he inhaled the pilchard on the right short. As ...
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May 19Kids Fishing in Miami
Today we had a 3/4 day offshore Charter that had been rescheduled a few weeks back. With a few baits left over in the well from the day before, we headed east in the dead calm conditions. We slowed the boat right outside Biscayne Channel to view a pod of porpoises, when John took a look at the sounder. We were painting bait from the bottom to ten feet up and thick! Looking down, we saw the hordes of pilchards, and not wanting to waste the opportunity, we loaded the well with more fresh baits. Little Leo and Gio had a blast winding in full strings for a few minutes before we continued offshore. We popped the kites up (with helium) in 140 and got 5 baits dangling straight east of Fowey. After giving Bruno (Father/birthday boy) a crash course in kite fishing, we got him fine tuning the spread in no time. While the ladies were on the Fly bridge talking with Captain John, Bruno was tending to the right trident, ...
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May 18Tournament Fishing Aboard the Blue Yonder
Well the day started with a full bait well, overcast skies, and zero wind. Our plan to kite fish the edge for meat fish for the tourney proved to be a failure. A win required the 3 biggest dolphin, and the calcutta win meant the largest kingfish, dolphin, wahoo or tuna. Since the tuna have been so thick lately (and pretty large), thats what we targetted. Lines were in at 630, but with no breeze, Feder worked like a dog to keep even 2 kite baits in the air (3 would sink the kite line). While he worked that angle out the rest of us set up an assortment of flatlines up and down the length of the Blue Yonder. For maximum coverage, we had two baits fished off the bow, 5 from the stern, and 2 kite baits. We found a heavy rip in 160 just off fowey, but started our drift shallower in 110 due to the tuna's prevalence in shallower water. We had barely begun our wait when our rookie angler Spencer came tight ...
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May 12Catching Sailfish with No GPS
Had a private job on a 36' Contender for a morning half day, but the boat had no electronics. Catching sailfish is no straightforward matter, but catching sailfish with no GPS or depth finder is not an easy task. Sailfish are so in tune with depth that not knowing the areas contours can drastically affect your results for the day. The owner made the call to purchase some bait and we headed out. The electronics had just been replaced and the sounder had not been hooked up. In addition we had one electric reel and one manual reel for the day. Fortunately, we still managed to catch a few fish even though the depth remained a mystery and an Okuma 50 wide on a full length rod served as our makeshift kite reel on the north side... We set up just south of Fowey in ??? feet. We were shallower than most other boats but i knew we weren't too tight on the reef and the conditions looked right. Lots of bait ...
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May 10Big Blackfin Tuna off Miami
Spring time is an excellent time of year to specifically target big blackfin tuna off Miami. Using lighter leaders and thin wire hooks, anglers can ensure that their terminal gear is practically invisible to the keen eyed predators. Today we left the dock early and headed to Bug. Bait was slow so we hit another spot and threw the net and loaded up on cigar minnows and spanish sardines. We ran to the edge and did a long drift from 130' out to sea with the southwest wind. In about 300' a sail came up on the left mid, and inhaled the spanish sardine on 30 pound fluorocarbon (We were targetting blackfin so everything had a fluoro trace). The fish was very acrobatic and danced around the boat in circles. We got the release after a few minutes. After a few more minutes we reset in 125' off of Fowey. There was a decent lull without action but then it picked up. One of the mid lines started singing and the ...
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May 1Deep Sea Charter Fishing in Miami
Today a father and son came aboard for a full day of Deep Sea Charter fishing in Miami. It was the first day without rain after the 4 days of torrential downpours. Bait was very tough in the chocolate milk water in the cut and off Key Biscayne. The edge was very dirty (often see this after days of hard east wind) and the water was green as far as the eye could see. (attributed to the rainfall more so than the rain) We ended up popping the kites up and just south of Fowey as the water color was a bit better after a difficult morning. The ice breaker was a bonehead... We had a cruising hammerhead eat a thready on the long and bite through the leader after a couple minutes. After a while longer we hooked into the meanest sail ever caught aboard the Blue Yonder. It was a small fish, about 35 pounds but it wasn't pleased about consuming a 3 inch pilchard and finding out it had ...
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Apr 28Sailfishing with the Billfish Foundation
We left the dock at about 7:00 am and headed off into rough seas and rainy weather excited for the day ahead. Today we were accompanied by Andrew Cox from The Billfish Foundation and 3 of his friends. Needless to say we were excited for a day of sailfishing with the Billfish Foundation. We headed to Bug light where there were mats of pilchards on the sounder. We loaded up with enough bait to fish the whole day and live chum a little bit as well. We headed to the edge and popped the kites up in about 150'. We soaked baits for about 45 minutes without a hit. We were fishing just to the south of another boat who hooked up and slid right offshore. Just after, we scooted behind them and to the north then instantly hooked up in 160'. Andy was on the reel with his first sailfish. The sail put on a show greyhounding in circles but he was eventually subdued. We were now 1/1 on sails. We moved south and reset ...
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Apr 24Sailfishing in Miami
It was a gorgeous morning to spend the day Sailfishing in Miami. We left the dock at 7:30 with Johnny, Blake, and Steve on board. Winds were blowing about 15 knots out of the north and it was a cool April morning. If north current was present on the edge the late cold front would hopefully get the sails chewing. We headed to bug to catch bait. The pilchards were about an eighth of a mile south of the mark and were moving very fast. We had to move around at 6 knots until we painted them on the sounder and drop sabikis on the bait ball. As soon as you got a few strings, the bait moved and we got to chase them again. After about an hour of bait fishing, we ran to about 130' just south of Fowey. The current was moving north at 2.5 knots and the water color was good, although there wasn't a defined edge.We put the kites up and it didn't take long... While i ...
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Apr 10Chub Cay Marlin Fishing
Chub Cay Marlin Fishing The morning of Thursday April 5 was nasty. A big squall of thunderstorms moved its way eastward and the wind was blowing about 20 knots out of the south. We waited out the storms and headed off into bumpy seas. We were at Chub by 6:30 pm and spent the night on the hook. The following day, (Friday) we cleared customs and left the dock. The spread riggers were dropped and the spread was out as soon as we hit blue water. Unfortunately, this "blue" water had a gnarly tint and was more of a dark green. Conditions were pretty terrible with the hard west wind. One boat plucked a blue pretty deep off Rum but otherwise, the radio was quiet. We caught a decent blackfin and 10 or so dolphin. We did a little jigging off the Jolters and caught our share of strawberry grouper. We spent the night in a secret anchorage/mutton spot and got a 12 pounder. We also pulled on some sharks with barracuda ...
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Mar 31Charter Fishing in Flamingo
As usual, the day started nice and early with a drive to the west. We launched the boat and noted that once again, the wind was blowing out of the west.This is an unfavorable wind direction because it ends up churning the water up to a disgusting color. Chocolate milk water would plague our trip once again but we knew we would catch fish regardless. Thankfully charter fishing in Flamingo sees a lot more fish than areas in and around Miami. We threw top water plugs, bucktails, and soft plastics. The conditions were piss poor but we still produced a solid mixed bag of fish. There weren’t any trophy fish but the quantity was there. We missed the 2 biggest snook of the day which was a bummer… This is a great time of year in Flamingo and the conditions should improve as an easterly flow begins to prevail in the coming months.Catching a mixed bag of fish in tranquil waters is soothing to say the ...
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Mar 27Releasing Sailfish in Miami
We left the dock at 7 and headed to Bug. Pilchards were thick on the mark and we loaded up pretty quick with a few cigar minnows as well. Conditions have been a bit better south so we made it to the edge and began trolling south. We put out a spread of swimming ballyhoo and feathers and started to make way. The wind was blowing about 15 knots out of the ENE and there was a decent water color out front that improved as we headed south. Conditions looked perfect for kitefishing, and we were exctied to start releasing sailfish in Miami. About 45 minutes after deploying the spread, we had a double header of dolphin in about 350 feet. One fish measured 19 inches to the fork and was thrown back and the other was about a 10 lb bull. The current was pushed in shallower down south and the conditions looked excellent for kite fishing. The current was ripping to the north at 3 knots and there was dark blue water pushed onto the ...
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Mar 25Patch Reef Fishing in Miami
Snapper Fishing with a Small Boat Extending from Key Biscayne all the way South to the Northern most Florida Keys, anglers can expect a variety of species while patch reef fishing in Miami. Due to relatively shallow water and close proximity to Biscayne Bay, even small boats can get in on the action that these limestone areas have to offer. The bite is heavily tide oriented depending on the location of the finger channels relative to the reefs, and the moon phase and seasonal changes can affect your luck as well. Armed with a serious amount of chum and live shrimp, our plan for the day was to target mutton snapper. These bright pink fish are particularly difficult to fool, but with enough chum they can be enticed into an aggressive feeding mode. The number of other species that show up competing for your baits also helps to drive the snapper closer and closer towards the boat. Yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, jacks, mackerel, grouper, porgys, grunts, hogfish, permit, cobia, and ...
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